Sewing-machine.



W. GROTHE & J. O. HUFFMAN.

SEWING MACHINE. APPLIG'ATIQH rum) NOV. 2, 1908.

1,063,677; Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D c.

W. GROTHE & J. 0. HUFFMAN.

' SEWING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 2, 190a.

Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MUM

60., WASHlNGTON D c Tl ITE STATS FATEN T OFFIQE.

WILLIAM GROTHE, OF LAKEWOOD, AND JOHN O.- HUFFMAN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,ASSIGNORS TO THE WHITE SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A

CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3, 1913.

Application filed November 2, 1908. Serial No. 460,582.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, WILLIAM Gnori-rn andJoI-IN O. HUFFMAN, both citizens of the United States, residing atLakewood and Cleveland, respectively, in the county of Cuyahoga andState of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSewing-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a closure for theopenings commonly made through the end of the case of a sewing machinehead, adjacent to the needle plate, and through the wooden portion ofthe platform of the table in the same locality. Such openings arecommonly had for the purpose of inspecting the working parts of themachine beneath the needle and for the purpose of removing the bobbincase or other part when occasion requires.

The object of the invention has been to provide a plate to close thisopening which shall be readily applied and held in either closed or openposition.

It has been a further object to provide a plate of this character whichmay be removed entirely out of the way so that access may be had to theworking part-s of the machine even when heavy material, such as coats orsimilar articles, or attachments are held beneath the presser foot.

The above objects and other desirable ad vantages it will be seen areattained by that embodiment of our invention described in the followingspecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is an elevation of the portion of a sewing machine head at thepresser foot end showing the relation of the operating parts and ourclosing plate which has been raised to the open posit-ion. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the closing plate in raised or open position. Fig. 3is a central longitudinal section through the closing plate and aport-ion of the needle plate illustrating the method of applying theplate in position and closing the same. Fig. 4: is a similar section onthe line 44 of'Fig. 1 showing the plate in closed position. Fig. 5 is atop plan of one end of the head plate and the tableadjacent theretoshowing the closing late in position. Fig. 6 is a similar View with theclosing plate removed showing the ways on which it rests.

Our closing plate is, as above indicated,

designed to close the openings which are made in the base plate of themachine head adjacent to the needle plate and in the top of the tableadjacent thereto in order that access may be had to the working partsbeneath the needle. The body of this plate we construct in a singlepiece A designed to fit the two openings when in position. A suitablethumb not-ch A is provided at the outer edge of the plate for thepurpose of permitting accessto the catch'by which the plate is held inits closed position, as will be hereinafter described.

()n the lower face of the plate near the inner end thereof we secure aretaining cross strip B having the ends thereof bent at right angles tothe plane of the plate, the said ends being properly shaped to formretaining ears B fitting closely behind lateral. projections C extendingfrom the edge of the base plate C about the opening. These serve toprevent the closing plate from moving outward away from its proper D,which needle plate for the purpose of this invention may be considered afixture, after the manner shown in Fig. 3, making an engagement whichacts as a separable hinge joint and about which the closing plate may bepivotally turned to an open or closed position. The said lip, of course,will assist in retaining the plate against any withdrawal in a directlyupward position when it is once closed. Also on the under face of theplate we provide a catch strip E having laterally projecting wings Eextending through notches in the ears B, the ends of which wings areturned at right angles to the plane of the plate and are shaped so as toform catches E designed to take under the above described lugs C whichproject from the base plate into the opening. This catch strip is heldin place by means of the ears B and a headed rivet E passing through asuitably formed slot E therein. The catches are thrown forward by meansof a coiled spring fitted in a socket piece E secured to the catch plateand bearing against a lip or shoulder B formed at the forward edge ofthe cross strip B. Said catch strip when in 11 its forward positionprojects slightly beyond the thumb notch referred to so that by theinsertion of the finger into said notch the said catch strip may bemoved back to the point where the catches clear the retaining lugs andpermit the swinging of the plate upward. For the purpose of retainingthe said plate in its uppermost position, we secure a finger F on thehead of the machine in proper position to permit the forward edge of thecatch strip E to snub under the same when the plate is raised toposition shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Should it be desired to attain access to the working parts whilematerial is in the machine, especially should such material be toostifl' to permit the plate to be swung to its open position, it will benecessary to do no more than swing it partly open to about the positionshown in Fig. 3, after the catches have been pushed back. It willthereupon be easy to pull the plate forward along the plane which itthen occupies, since it is clearly removable from the needle platewithout any further manipulation. This is a marked advantage, since itfrequently happens that it is desirable to get at the bobbin or someother part of the machine in the midst of work, and it is not alwaysconvenient to remove that work from beneath the presser foot at thetime. Vith our construction of plate, however, it will be seen that theopening may be cleared at any and all times, and our construction issuch that ordinarily the plate may be kept in its proper position,swinging on its separable hinge to and from its closed position, withoutany necessity for taking it out of or fitting it back into its pro-perplace.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein, said openings being adjacent to eachother and affording access to parts of the machine beneath the said baseplate, a single cover plate for the openings, an edge of the saidopenings in the base plate and table and an edge of the cover platebeing in contact, the cover plate being fulcrumed on that part of theedge thereof which engages with the base plate, the cover plate beingseparable as an entirety from the base plate when the cover plate israised slightly above its closed position.

2. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein, said openings being adjacent to eachother and affording access to parts of the machine beneath the saidplate, a single cover plate for the openings, the rear edge of saidcover plate being fulcrumed upon the rear edge of said openings,

the plate being separable as an entirety from the base plate when thecover is raised slightly above its closed position, means for normallyretaining the cover in closed position, and means for holding the coverin wide open position.

3. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein adjacent to the needle plate and affordingaccess to certain parts of the machine beneath the base plate, a singlecover plate for said opening adapted to be swung upward on one edge anddrawn outwardly away from the opening when swung upward, means retainingthe cover against direct upward movement and means retaining it againstlateral movement away from the opening when it is lying in horizontalposition.

4. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein, a cover plate adapted to close bothopenings, projecting lugs at each side of the opening in the base plateupon which the cover plate rests, with a cross strip rigidly secured tothe cover plate extending slightly beyond its inner edge on the lowerside and adapted to take under the base plate, a catch strip movablyconnected to the under side of the cover plate having lateral extensionsadapted to engage the lugs on the base plate, and means for holding saidcatch strip in yielding engagement with the lugs of the base plate, thecatch strip being accessible to the operator so that it may be moved outof engagement with said lugs.

5. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein, a cover plate adapted to close bothopenings, project-ing lugs at each side of the opening in the base plateupon which the cover plate rests, with a cross strip rigidly secured tothe cover plate extending slightly beyond its inner edge on the lowerside and adapted to take under the base plate, said cross strip havingdepending and outwardly projecting ears at each end, a catch stripmovably connected to the under side of the cover plate having lateralextensions, the extremities of which are supported by the ears of thecross strip and provided wit-h hooked lugs adapted to take under thelugs on the base plate, with means for holding the hooked lugs of thecatch strip in yielding engagement with the lugs of the base plate, andmeans whereby the catch strip may be pushed back and disengaged fromsaid lugs to detach the cover.

6. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein, a cover plate adapted to close bothopenings, projecting lugs at each side of the opening in the base plateupon which the cover plate rests, with a cross strip rigidly secured tothe cover plate extending slightly beyond its inner edge on the lowerside and adapted to take under the base plate, said cross strip havingdepending and outwardly projecting ears at each end, a catch stripmovably connected to the under side of the cover plate having lateralextensions which are supported by the ears on the cross strip andprovided with hooked lugs adapted to take under the lugs on the baseplate, a spring pressing said catch strip into engagement with the lugsof the base plate with a finger indentation in the outer edge of thecover plate into which a portion of the catch strip projects whereby itmay be pushed back and disengaged from the lugs on the base plate todetach the cover.

7. A sewing machine comprising a base plate and a table, said plate andtable having openings therein, a cover plate detachably and hingablymounted upon the base plate and adapted to close both of said openings,projecting lugs in the opening of the base plate upon which the coverrests, a spring pressed catch strip lnovably connected to the cover andprovided with hooked lugs adapted to engage the lugs ot' the base plateto lock said cover plate in closed position and having an exposedportion at the free edge of the cover plate whereby it may be pushedback to disengage it from the lugs of the base plate, a sewing machinehead having a lug adapted to engage said eXposed port-ion of the catchstrip and yieldingly hold the cover plate in raised position.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto affix our signatures in the presenceof two witnesses.

WILLIAM GROTHE. JOHN O. HUFFMAN. Witnesses:

HENRY A. Lown, CHAS. E. CoLEGRovE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

